Police brutality is the wanton use of excessive force, usually physical, but potentially in the form of verbal attacks and psychological intimidation, by a police officer. Widespread police brutality exists in many countries, even those that prosecute it. It is one of several forms of police misconduct, which include: false arrest, intimidation, racial profiling, political repression, surveillance abuse, sexual abuse and police corruption.

An Orillia woman who, a judge said, was left with “catastrophic” injuries following an altercation with OPP Sgt. Russell Watson in 2013, is suing Watson, the police force and the local police services board for close to $4 million.

Tonie Farrell, 48, “has sustained permanent and serious injuries including, but not limited to, a fractured leg, crushed knee, lost tooth, as well as bruising, spraining, straining and tearing of the muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves throughout her body including her neck and back,” alleges the statement of claim, filed in Newmarket Superior Court in January.

The OPP “knew or ought to have known that Sgt. Watson had a history of using excessive or unwarranted force but failed to take appropriate steps to address the issue,” the statement alleges. “It continued to employ Sgt. Watson when it knew or ought to have known that Sgt. Watson was a danger to the public.”

None of the allegations has been proven in court.

OPP spokesman Sgt. Peter Leon said Watson and the OPP would not be commenting. Orillia Police Services Board chair Pat Hehn said the board cannot comment as the incident is under investigation by the Special Investigations Unit, Ontario’s civilian watchdog agency that investigates incidents of police involvement in serious injury or death.

Farrell’s lawyer, Darcy Romaine, said he expects statements of defence will be filed by the end of April.

Farrell was initially charged with assaulting Watson by allegedly grabbing his lapel on April 2, 2013. Farrell said she was trying to help him find three people she saw assault another woman behind an Orillia convenience store, but was told by Watson to “shut the f--- up.”

Ontario Court Justice George Beatty threw out the charge against Farrell last December, writing that Farrell was simply a “Good Samaritan” trying to help the police officer.

Farrell testified that Watson karate-kicked her to the ground, then jumped on top of her and punched her on the left side of the face. She said she now walks with a cane and takes daily pain medication.

“(Watson) suffered no injuries and her injuries were catastrophic,” Beatty wrote in his decision.

Watson testified at trial that Farrell had been drinking, but “he was uncertain how much,” according to Beatty’s decision. He said he found Farrell distracting and “very animated” and took her to the ground to arrest her when she wouldn’t comply with his orders.

The SIU investigated Watson in 2013, but did not press charges. The agency reopened the case earlier this month following Beatty’s decision.

The statement of claim names as plaintiffs Farrell, her parents, four children and grandchild.

Farrell is demanding $4 million in general, aggravated and punitive damages, and $100,000 in Charter of Rights and Freedoms damages. Her family members are each asking for $100,000 in damages.

The statement alleges Watson “is liable for the tort of battery,” saying he “owed a duty to the plaintiff . . . not to make harmful or offense (sic) physical contact with her in the absence of legal justification or authority.”

It also alleges that he wrongfully arrested Farrell, that he was “negligent in failing to carry out a reasonable investigation,” and was “actively involved” in the “malicious prosecution” of Farrell.

The statement of claim goes on to allege that Watson “caused and continued prosecution against the plaintiff in order to conceal or obfuscate his misconduct; he deliberately misstated the events in his notes in hopes of securing a conviction; he counseled fellow officers to misstate evidence to the court in order to secure a conviction.”

No charges laid against OPP officer for 2013 altercation with Orillia woman

Ontario’s police watchdog has decided for a second time not to lay charges against an OPP officer who left an Orillia woman with what a judge described as “catastrophic” injuries.

Tonie Farrell, 49, suffered a shattered knee, among other injuries, in an altercation with Sgt. Russell Watson in April 2013.

She was initially charged with assaulting Watson by grabbing his lapel, and testified at her own trial last year that she was trying to help Watson catch the people who had apparently assaulted a woman behind a convenience store.

Ontario Court Justice George Beatty acquitted her in December, saying she was simply a “Good Samaritan.” The Special Investigations Unit, which had initially concluded after a month-long investigation in 2013 that there were no reasonable grounds to charge Watson, reopened its investigation in March following Beatty’s ruling and a public outcry.

On Tuesday, SIU director Tony Loparco upheld the SIU’s original decision, while describing Farrell’s injuries as “unfortunate and serious.” He highlighted differences between what Farrell told SIU investigators and what she said at her trial, particularly regarding a missing tooth.

He also pointed out that while the assault victim who Farrell was trying to help spoke to SIU investigators and corroborated Watson’s version of events, she did not testify at Farrell’s trial.

Farrell was not immediately available for comment on Tuesday.

Watson had arrived on the scene of an apparent assault in the early hours of April 2, 2013, according to Loparco’s report, and found Farrell consoling the victim. Farrell had heard her screams while walking home with a friend.

Loparco wrote that Farrell became agitated “and began to interfere with (Watson’s) ability to speak with the assault victim. Sgt. Watson cautioned her to step aside, probably using some profanity in the process, but Ms Farrell failed to do so. Instead, Ms Farrell reached out and made contact with the officer’s jacket.”

“The two tussled for a moment before Sgt. Watson attempted to trip Ms Farrell with his right leg. The manoeuvre did not go as planned and Ms Farrell fell awkwardly as Sgt. Watson lost his balance and fell on top of her, fracturing her left tibia in the process.”

Loparco said Watson continued to struggle with Farrell as another officer arrived on scene, and “delivered a short hand strike to Ms Farrell’s face,” before she was finally handcuffed and led away.

The director found that the hand strike was justified given the circumstances, saying Farrell “had been able to thwart the substantial efforts of Sgt. Watson and another officer to handcuff her.”

He said there were “several versions” regarding her missing tooth. Loparco said Farrell never mentioned it to SIU investigators during the first investigation, nor is it confirmed by medical reports. He said that the first mention of it came from Farrell at her trial.

“First, and in my opinion the most likely version, is that she did not suffer an injury to her tooth as a result of the incident,” Loparco said.

Finally, Loparco concluded that Watson did not stomp or kick Farrell’s leg as she described. He said the trip to bring her to the ground may have been “imprudent,” but not unreasonable.

He said Farrell’s trial was not made aware of medical information that showed Farrell had very low bone density in her injured leg “which in itself could have been a contributing factor in the severity of the injury.”

Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit says there are no grounds to charge an Orillia OPP officer with a criminal offence in relation to injuries sustained by a local woman.

In a statement Tuesday, the arm’s-length agency affirmed an earlier decision regarding injuries sustained by Maria Farrell during an encounter with Sgt. Russell Watson in April 2013.

“In the final analysis, I am not satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Sgt. Watson committed a criminal offence in his dealings with Ms. Farrell, notwithstanding the unfortunate and serious injuries she suffered during her arrest,” director Tony Loparco said.

Police watchdog decides for a second time not to lay charges against OPP officer

Sgt. Russell Watson was again under investigation for the 2013 altercation with Orillia woman who was left with “catastrophic” injuries.

Ontario’s police watchdog has decided for a second time not to lay charges against an OPP officer who left an Orillia woman with what a judge described as “catastrophic” injuries.

Tonie Farrell, 49, suffered a shattered knee, among other injuries, in an altercation with Sgt. Russell Watson in April 2013.

She was initially charged with assaulting Watson by grabbing his lapel, and testified at her own trial last year that she was trying to help Watson catch the people who had apparently assaulted a woman behind a convenience store.

Ontario Court Justice George Beatty acquitted her in December, saying she was simply a “Good Samaritan.” The Special Investigations Unit, which had initially concluded after a month-long investigation in 2013 that there were no reasonable grounds to charge Watson, reopened its investigation in March following Beatty’s ruling and a public outcry.

On Tuesday, SIU director Tony Loparco upheld the SIU’s original decision, while describing Farrell’s injuries as “unfortunate and serious.” He highlighted differences between what Farrell told SIU investigators and what she said at her trial, particularly regarding a missing tooth.

He also pointed out that while the assault victim who Farrell was trying to help spoke to SIU investigators and corroborated Watson’s version of events, she did not testify at Farrell’s trial.

Farrell was not immediately available for comment on Tuesday.

Watson had arrived on the scene of an apparent assault in the early hours of April 2, 2013, according to Loparco’s report, and found Farrell consoling the victim. Farrell had heard her screams while walking home with a friend.

Loparco wrote that Farrell became agitated “and began to interfere with (Watson’s) ability to speak with the assault victim. Sgt. Watson cautioned her to step aside, probably using some profanity in the process, but Ms Farrell failed to do so.

Instead, Ms Farrell reached out and made contact with the officer’s jacket.”

“The two tussled for a moment before Sgt. Watson attempted to trip Ms Farrell with his right leg. The manoeuvre did not go as planned and Ms Farrell fell awkwardly as Sgt. Watson lost his balance and fell on top of her, fracturing her left tibia in the process.”

Loparco said Watson continued to struggle with Farrell as another officer arrived on scene, and “delivered a short hand strike to Ms Farrell’s face,” before she was finally handcuffed and led away.

The director found that the hand strike was justified given the circumstances, saying Farrell “had been able to thwart the substantial efforts of Sgt. Watson and another officer to handcuff her.”

He said there were “several versions” regarding her missing tooth. Loparco said Farrell never mentioned it to SIU investigators during the first investigation, nor is it confirmed by medical reports. He said that the first mention of it came from Farrell at her trial.

“First, and in my opinion the most likely version, is that she did not suffer an injury to her tooth as a result of the incident,” Loparco said.

Finally, Loparco concluded that Watson did not stomp or kick Farrell’s leg as she described. He said the trip to bring her to the ground may have been “imprudent,” but not unreasonable.

He said Farrell’s trial was not made aware of medical information that showed Farrell had very low bone density in her injured leg “which in itself could have been a contributing factor in the severity of the injury.”

OPP officer cleared of wrongdoing for the second time in woman's arrest

An officer who arrested a woman that resulted in her sustaining injuries didn't commit any criminal offence, according to Ontario's police oversight body, the Special Investigations Unit.

SIU director Tony Loparco says the arrest of Maria Farrell on April 2, 2013, by OPP Sgt. Russell Watson was lawful and he did not use excessive force.

It was the second time the SIU cleared the officer in the controversial arrest.

Farrell, who goes by the name Tonie, heard a woman screaming as she was walking by the area of Colborne Street East and West Street South in Orillia, Ont., in April 2013. She saw a woman being beaten by three people. The assailants fled when Farrell ran toward them. She then consoled the victim, who she says was clearly distraught.

When Sgt. Watson arrived at the scene, an altercation followed.

Farrell alleges Watson kicked her in the side of her knee, breaking her leg and sending her to the ground. She says he then punched her in the face and climbed on top of her, pressing her face into the concrete.

It is alleged that he and two other officers then dragged her to a police car, and had to struggle to get her in the car because her leg wouldn't bend properly, her lawyer, Angela McLeod, told CBC Radio's As It Happens last year.

Farrell initially faced charges of assaulting and obstructing a police officer. The charges were dismissed in December 2014.

She sustained injuries, including a fractured left tibia as the two struggled during the course of the arrest.

Watson was originally cleared of any criminal offence in May 2013 after the SIU concluded there were no grounds to believe he used excessive force.

The SIU says it reopened the investigation in March after a judge made critical comments of the officer in the case against Farrell for obstruction and assaulting a police officer that resulted in her acquittal. The judge said the arrest caused "catastrophic injuries" to Farrell.

No charges will be laid in the case of a grandmother who suffered catastrophic injuries in an altercation with a police officer, Ontario's Special Investigations Unit has determined.

Provincial Court Justice George Beatty found last December that Maria "Tonie" Farrell, 49, was acting as a "Good Samaritan" by coming to the aid of an injured woman when OPP Sgt. Russell Watson "karate kicked" and "sucker punched" her on April 2, 2013 as she reached out to see his badge number.

SIU Director Tony Loparco on Tuesday cleared Watson of any wrongdoing in the incident which left Farrell with injuries to her neck and back and a crushed knee. The former Tim Hortons employee, who also lost a tooth in the altercation, can no longer work and now hobbles with a cane.

She lives in daily pain and claims is terrified of police officers.

Loparco admitted "it did not go well" when Watson tried to trip the woman and fell on top of her because he believed Farrell assaulted him when she made contact with his jacket.

"The decision to place her on the ground through the relatively minor use of force involved in a trip, although perhaps imprudent, was not unreasonable," Loparco added in his written decision.

He suggested the woman's injuries may, in part, be the result of low bone density.

"Ms. Farrell indicated that she had very low bone density in her injured leg which in itself could have been a contributing factor in the severity of the injury," Loparco said.

Farrell was initially charged with assaulting a police officer and hobbled to court in crutches to her trial but after listening to the officer testify, the judge said he didn't believe him.

"Sgt. Watson provided no explanation as to how Ms. Farrell's tibia was broken, or indeed, the reasons for the bruises on her legs, arms and the loss of a tooth," said the judge.

Farrell's trial lawyer, Angela McLeod, said she is "sick and dumbfounded" with the SIU decision.

"The SIU has dismissed the very powerful findings of a highly respected judge," said McLeod. "It is essentially saying this judge is not competent -- and then to take it to the next level and suggest it is the victim's fault for having low bone density? It's beyond words."

McLeod says she believes the decision will cause a loss of public confidence in the SIU and the police.

The decision, released on Farrell's birthday, was "shattering", said her close friend, Wendy Osborne.

"This is a complete joke. It's the worst birthday present ever," said Osborne, who added Farrell is too upset to speak.

Osborne said she will be organizing a public protest in Orillia.

Watson, who works in the OPP's Orillia detachment, did not return calls.

The SIU, the OIPRD and the OPP itself, is merely in place for the public's rose-coloured perception that the police have to answer to their criminal actions. All you have to do is pay attention to the many, so called investigations.

To mention a few:

Douglas Minty, the cop's excuse for shooting him was that he was waving around a little pen knife and after he had shot him, Minty lay on the ground dying while he closed the pen knife. This sounds absurd to the normal person, but not to the SIU.

In Kenora a cop arrested a native woman for being intoxicated in public, one of the most likely unlawful arrests (assault) that are ever made. The cop then puts her in his vehicle unbelted and she dies when he crashes into a truck. The most likely scenario is that this woman was assaulted then unlawfully imprisoned and wound up dead. For public perception the SIU charged the cop for Dangerous Driving, a ridiculous charge that the SIU knows the cop would be guaranteed to beat in court as a prosecutor would have to prove criminal intent. Not surprisingly the cop beat the charge and the public felt better because he plead guilty to a provincial offence in return.

My son was assaulted by 3 cops from the Peterborough OPP, Troy Beavis, Jason Katz and Mike Davidson, but Rob Flindal, their Sergeant would not investigate, take a statement from my son, or charge the officers. The SIU would not even investigate our allegations. Their reason was that my son did not have serious injuries. He only had torn ligaments and internal bruising. My son was arrested, accused of numerous offenses, roughed up and released. There were no charges laid against my son because there were no grounds to charge or detain him.

There is no accountability for cops. Rarely does a judge make comments such as Justice George Beatty's. He must have had plenty of evidence before he made his comments and he was not biased like most judges.

I have these opinions as a result of unlawful confrontations with officers from Peterborough OPP, and in particular, Kaury Jones, Jennifer Payne, Greg Stokes and Brad Rathbun to name a few. They have laid many charges against members of my family, some of them lied in court and fabricated evidence at trial. However even though I was self-represented I have beat every charge.

Kaury Jones is named in a civil suit for fabricating evidence, malicious prosecution, unlawful arrest and detention. On June 24th, 2014, while attempting to serve documents on Kaury Jones in Cavan, Brad Rathbun and Greg Stokes showed up and arrested my sons and I for attempting to serve the documents. We were held in cells for the entire day. After showing a video of the altercation to the Detachment Commander, Jeff Vibert, all charges were dropped and any record of the charges were erased. Jeff Vibert even paid us cash for the tow of my sons car.

They charged me for DUI on private property when I was not drinking, they charged me for refusing a breath test when they did not even present me with or bring me to a breathalyzer machine. My judge ruled that I was unlawfully arrested and that Kaury Jones testimony was "curious" , yet the judge, Robert Graydon, complimented this cop for polite and well spoken curious testimony and then reprimanded me for being rude to the cop during an unlawful arrest (assault), seems like bias comments to me.

The cops charged my son with Causing a Disturbance when it was them causing the disturbance on my son's property. They assaulted my son's girlfriend along with myself and then charged him because he started yelling at them, (R v Kukemueller ONCA). Although successful on appeal, even the Court of Appeal would not make a comment in their decision about my oral argument that proved a miscarriage of justice, that all the evidence at trial clearly showed that my son was the victim of a disturbance that was caused by the police and the police were very much aware of it (malicious prosecution).

Their is no accountability for cops, the OIPRD, the SIU, the OPP and the courts very very rarely hold them accountable unless you have video proof and even that is not good enough. I know all about it, I showed video to Justice Lisa Cameron to prove that the cops were lying about the people on my son's property being under the influence (no beverage containers, unsteady walking or slurred speech), the cops could not come up with any legit indications of intoxication (except their lies about the smell of alcohol) yet my son's judge ruled that the cops "felt" that the occupants were intoxicated.

We are in a police state. The cops have unfettered power. The politicians, The courts, the police boards, the SIU, the OIPRD, all protect, enable, encourage, and promote the abuse of power that these officers are so willing to take advantage of.

Something needs to be done, it needs to be done soon and it will not be done by the legislature or any of these bullshit agencies that are set up for the public's false perception of accountability.